[Grades?]Kings v. Hornets - 2/25/17
- Thread starter VF21
- Start date
Who woulda thought?
It's a heck of a lot tougher to win an NBA game when the fix isn't in.
This is exactly what people will have to get used to a lot for the next couple years.
As I said last game, it was a mirage.
A league-mandated DIVE job by the Nuggets and a Kings team that was motivated beyond belief to play above their heads.
It's a heck of a lot tougher to win an NBA game when the fix isn't in.
This is exactly what people will have to get used to a lot for the next couple years.
As I said last game, it was a mirage.
A league-mandated DIVE job by the Nuggets and a Kings team that was motivated beyond belief to play above their heads.
Good to see Papa log in some minutes at the end. This result is expected, and that's ok. The Kings are now a young rebuilding team. This is no different than last season where we barely reached 30 games, and that's when we had an All-Star and franchise player.
This is the type of game you really want to see from your young core. Let them learn out there. Hopefully we see more of Papagiannis
This is the type of game you really want to see from your young core. Let them learn out there. Hopefully we see more of Papagiannis
Simple -
it's one game to them.
If directives come down for teams to take a dive, then they simply get one back later on to even up.
On a simpler level, the Nuggets players simply didn't care about the game as much as the Kings' players did.
But this one game was absolutely vital for Vivek, Vlade, the entire Kings organization to save face and not lose MILLIONS of dollars with immediate proof of how hapless the team is now.
From a business standpoint, it make business sense for the NBA to have the Kings have that one game (with all the attention and eyes on it) to let them shine and not completely turn-off the fanbase.
People will have that as a mirage to keep their hopes up for a long time, and they will bank on that (market) "the up-and-coming, promising youngsters" angle.
THIS game is much more reality of the NBA.
Whether you want to explain it through a conscious conspiracy (keep in mind the defense the Kings got away with which fueled the offense which is very rare for them not to be called fouls), or a simple reasonable difference in how much each roster needed the win, the result is the same -
last game was a mirage, and this game is more the reality of the Kings for the foreseeable future.
it's one game to them.
If directives come down for teams to take a dive, then they simply get one back later on to even up.
On a simpler level, the Nuggets players simply didn't care about the game as much as the Kings' players did.
But this one game was absolutely vital for Vivek, Vlade, the entire Kings organization to save face and not lose MILLIONS of dollars with immediate proof of how hapless the team is now.
From a business standpoint, it make business sense for the NBA to have the Kings have that one game (with all the attention and eyes on it) to let them shine and not completely turn-off the fanbase.
People will have that as a mirage to keep their hopes up for a long time, and they will bank on that (market) "the up-and-coming, promising youngsters" angle.
THIS game is much more reality of the NBA.
Whether you want to explain it through a conscious conspiracy (keep in mind the defense the Kings got away with which fueled the offense which is very rare for them not to be called fouls), or a simple reasonable difference in how much each roster needed the win, the result is the same -
last game was a mirage, and this game is more the reality of the Kings for the foreseeable future.
I think this was a really nice game, that did tell us quite a lot about our current team.
1. We need extraordinary energy to make our playstyle of turning defense into offense work. This energy wasn't there from all players tonight.
2. Like I said after the Nuggets game - if we are forced into the halfcourt and need to run an actual offense, we are in trouble. Not only that we lack a go to guy, we are also young and not familiar with each other and the new system without Boogie. So where other teams can create enough offense with pick&rolls, we can't do that right now.
3. Skal in the second game in a row looked really aggressive out there. His rebounding and willingness to get up and fight for balls was very encouraging. Not just settling in and waiting for things, but eager to make something happen. We need to find better looks for him though. Just throwing it into a rookie and asking him to post up won't work very often. He should get a lot more shots out of pick&roll or pick&pop plays.
4. Willie once again was quick with his words after the Denver win and got brought back to earth. He had some nice defensive moments, but never had enough space or enough passes and rolls to make something happen on offense. He is not a consistent 1vs1 threat yet. BAck to the drawing board young fella. Keep up the aggressive mindset and make things happen. We need you.
5. Buddy had a few rough moments as a decision maker and played lackluster defense.
6. In order to make things work next year, we need a better PG. When we are left with a team full of athletic finishers without much ability to make things happen on their own, we need a stellar guard to run the show. Not just a semi decent one, like DC, but a true upper echolon guard. According to the usual experts, who are wrong most of the time from my point of view, there are a few PG's with star potential in the draft. That's why the draft position is extremely important. Best case would be one of those. Maybe add a full sized athletic 3 and in a few years and after lots of development, we might be onto something with this group, if our FO or ownership don't screw up things half way through.
7. Even in the post Cousins era our problems versus the pick&roll remain the same, when playing teams with a 4 or 5 out approach. Kaminski killed us tonight and we had no answer. This probably leads to the conclusion, that DMC wasn't the sole reason for our lackluster pick&roll defense. I hoped we could really change this with our more lively and quicker group now, but this game it hasn't happened. I hope this won't be the norm.
8. Evans doesn't fit our vision. He is a ballstopper and he can't shoot. I hope we don't resign him.
1. We need extraordinary energy to make our playstyle of turning defense into offense work. This energy wasn't there from all players tonight.
2. Like I said after the Nuggets game - if we are forced into the halfcourt and need to run an actual offense, we are in trouble. Not only that we lack a go to guy, we are also young and not familiar with each other and the new system without Boogie. So where other teams can create enough offense with pick&rolls, we can't do that right now.
3. Skal in the second game in a row looked really aggressive out there. His rebounding and willingness to get up and fight for balls was very encouraging. Not just settling in and waiting for things, but eager to make something happen. We need to find better looks for him though. Just throwing it into a rookie and asking him to post up won't work very often. He should get a lot more shots out of pick&roll or pick&pop plays.
4. Willie once again was quick with his words after the Denver win and got brought back to earth. He had some nice defensive moments, but never had enough space or enough passes and rolls to make something happen on offense. He is not a consistent 1vs1 threat yet. BAck to the drawing board young fella. Keep up the aggressive mindset and make things happen. We need you.
5. Buddy had a few rough moments as a decision maker and played lackluster defense.
6. In order to make things work next year, we need a better PG. When we are left with a team full of athletic finishers without much ability to make things happen on their own, we need a stellar guard to run the show. Not just a semi decent one, like DC, but a true upper echolon guard. According to the usual experts, who are wrong most of the time from my point of view, there are a few PG's with star potential in the draft. That's why the draft position is extremely important. Best case would be one of those. Maybe add a full sized athletic 3 and in a few years and after lots of development, we might be onto something with this group, if our FO or ownership don't screw up things half way through.
7. Even in the post Cousins era our problems versus the pick&roll remain the same, when playing teams with a 4 or 5 out approach. Kaminski killed us tonight and we had no answer. This probably leads to the conclusion, that DMC wasn't the sole reason for our lackluster pick&roll defense. I hoped we could really change this with our more lively and quicker group now, but this game it hasn't happened. I hope this won't be the norm.
8. Evans doesn't fit our vision. He is a ballstopper and he can't shoot. I hope we don't resign him.
Last edited:
Awful game, outside of Skal. Without him there would be zero to be excited about on this team.
It is what it is. This team isn't cracking 30 wins this year. It's going to be rough for the foreseeable future, as in multiple seasons, unless we luck into another superstar.
Sigh... yeah, superstar. I wish we knew where to get one of those who wanted to play in Sacramento. Maybe in time. It's tough to hit in the draft.
But Culture = A. They lost with class. That was one of the classiest losses I have ever seen!! Kumbaya and rainbows and 20 point losses. The grass is greener in Kingsville!!!!
It is what it is. This team isn't cracking 30 wins this year. It's going to be rough for the foreseeable future, as in multiple seasons, unless we luck into another superstar.
Sigh... yeah, superstar. I wish we knew where to get one of those who wanted to play in Sacramento. Maybe in time. It's tough to hit in the draft.
But Culture = A. They lost with class. That was one of the classiest losses I have ever seen!! Kumbaya and rainbows and 20 point losses. The grass is greener in Kingsville!!!!
I know you miss Cousins, but it's funny you bring up wins. 7 seasons with Cousins, and there was only 1 season where we won over 30 games.
So we had a "superstar" in Cousins, yet we were still a horrible team. Even this year with Cousins. We were horrible. We have no business being a playoff team, but a down-year in the West is going to allow a potential 35W team to be 8th seed. Says more about the rest of the NBA than us.
So we had a "superstar" in Cousins, yet we were still a horrible team. Even this year with Cousins. We were horrible. We have no business being a playoff team, but a down-year in the West is going to allow a potential 35W team to be 8th seed. Says more about the rest of the NBA than us.
SO far so good tonight. Kings lose, Orlando winning, the Knicks winning and beating the 76ers. Need the Mavs to come up with a win tonight against the Pelicans and it'll be really solid. The crazy thing about the standings right now is that all the teams from 4th worst to 12th worst are pretty bunched up which makes things very interesting. If the Kings stink, the 76ers also stink, and somehow the Pelicans don't gel, there's an outside chance the Kings could wind up with 2 top 7 or 8 picks this year which would be massive.
Last edited:
Key word, horrible TEAM. I still say it's indeed possible to build around him, and the Kings failed him every single step of the way. Did he help out with his personal issues. Sure, I won't argue that. Were they blown totally out of proportion? I also think so.
We won ~30 games on the back of him and little help. Give him a TEAM and look out.
We won ~30 games on the back of him and little help. Give him a TEAM and look out.
Really? He had 15 points on 5-10, 2-5 on 3's with 2 assists and a rebound.
He was -3 on the +/-, which was better that almost everyone else on the team.
He probably hasn't even had a full practice with the team yet.
That doesn't look awful to me.
He was -3 on the +/-, which was better that almost everyone else on the team.
He probably hasn't even had a full practice with the team yet.
That doesn't look awful to me.
He was chucking bricks all night until absolute garbage time and was getting abused on defense by Marco Belinelli of all people.
Don't forget about Golden State and their "handsy defense" that the league allows just for them......... or any of the other numerous conspiracy theories you've floated time and time again on this forum.
I'm not sure what's worse:
A.) That you actually believe this crazy nonsense.
Or
B.) That you actually think it's a good idea to hit 'Send' and share it with everyone else expecting to be taken seriously.
As for the game itself, the let down was not really surprising although this was a pretty big let down. WCS showed once again that he has a tendency to let success go to his head. The 2 rebounds is more indicative of lack of effort than the points. This should be another reminder to him that at the NBA level nobody gives it to you, you gotta earn it night in and night out. I'm sure he'll bounce back at least somewhat next game.
Skal is definitely a legit talent and if he keeps working hard the ceiling is pretty high for him. No question he was a steal in the draft......Lottery talent for sure.
Finally it is pretty apparent that based on the roster and style they need to play to succeed that Collison and Lawson will be the driving force between winning and losing rest of this season. A bad night for Collison and sluggish performance from Lawson is just way too much for the other guys to overcome since their game is dependent on energy from the two PGs.
I'm not sure what's worse:
A.) That you actually believe this crazy nonsense.
Or
B.) That you actually think it's a good idea to hit 'Send' and share it with everyone else expecting to be taken seriously.
As for the game itself, the let down was not really surprising although this was a pretty big let down. WCS showed once again that he has a tendency to let success go to his head. The 2 rebounds is more indicative of lack of effort than the points. This should be another reminder to him that at the NBA level nobody gives it to you, you gotta earn it night in and night out. I'm sure he'll bounce back at least somewhat next game.
Skal is definitely a legit talent and if he keeps working hard the ceiling is pretty high for him. No question he was a steal in the draft......Lottery talent for sure.
Finally it is pretty apparent that based on the roster and style they need to play to succeed that Collison and Lawson will be the driving force between winning and losing rest of this season. A bad night for Collison and sluggish performance from Lawson is just way too much for the other guys to overcome since their game is dependent on energy from the two PGs.